Caldwell mayor loses re-election

Democrat John Kelley was elected mayor of Caldwell on Tuesday, defeating incumbent Ann Dassing by 103 votes, 1,306 to 1,203.

Dassing was seeking re-election to her third term as mayor after six years as a councilwoman. Kelley has been a councilman since 2011.

The lone Democrat on the Borough Council, Frank X. Rodgers III, was the top vote-getter with 1,358 votes.  Democrat Christine Schmidt ousted Republican councilman Richard Hauser by 184 votes, 1,298 to 1,114.  Republican Jason Fiore finished fourth with 986 votes.

Caldwell Democrats will submit three names to the council to fill Kelley’s seat.

The Republican majority on the council goes from 4-1 to 3-2.

An earlier version erroneously reported that Dassing served one-four year term.